Oil well pump valve



Nov. 28, 1933. K WASSON 1,936,975

OIL WELL PUMP VALVE Filed June 15, 1931 P I a Patented Nov. 28, 1933 The'present'invention relates to pumps and particularly to pumps designed and constructed for the elevation of oil from deep oil wellsi A large proportion of the crude oil derived 21C from the earth is pumped to'the surface by pumpspositioned far under ground and oper-" ated by pump rodsrextending to the surface, sometimes several thousand feet in length; The pumps positioned so far beneath the ground .10;

structed as ruggedly as possible as it is obviously an expensive matter toremove them for'inspection Jor repair. Theyare also frequently,

operatedin gangs from a single power source 2 and, inasmuch as the wells'in one 'groupumay capacities. l

It has generally'been the. practice however .2051 use pumps? of practically the same capacity for wells whichvdifier widely in productivity and as a result it frequently occurs that a pump having 'a' capacity to pump say 300 barrels a day has been plac'ed'in a well havingan output of say only 100 1 25. 1 barrels per day. This means that the actual rate of flow of oil past the pump isrelatively slow and inaSmuch as the oil carries sand and grit with it, it is quite possible when the oil flows slowly for considerable quantities of such sand to settle on the valveseat of the pump; re-v sulting in scouring of the valve seatQthus lead-1 ing to, its early destruction and necessitating loss of time and the heavy expense of removing the entire pump rod from the well for the pur-v 15-3 pose of removing and replacing the valve seat.

In accordance with the present invention I provide a novel form of pump plunger having a valve seat so designed as to reduce to a minimum the possibility of its impairment by the collection of grit thereon, with subsequent erosion. The pump plunger is also provided with novel means for retaining the valve seat in position, for guid-v ing thevalve in its motion and for furthermore preventing access to the valve seat for packing 14,42 material which may be dislodged from the pump packing, or other foreign bodies of considerable size. v v r V In adapting the invention to different types of valve naturally the details and arrangement of v UNITED STATES PATENT-g.OFFICE A e T ngs in.

I I m Kirk was, Mooringsport', l.a; p Ap l cation June '13, 1931; sesam 4 5 2 1 level and'being therefore inaccessible, are con'-' vary widely their daily capacity to deliver oil, the pumps should preferably be built of different embodying the invention;-

. 'Figure 2 is an axial section 'therethrough; Figure 1.3: is a perspective view-01E; thevalve seat;ra'.nd a Figure 4 is an axial section through a valve seat similar-to that shownuint Figures 2 and '3' but having somewhat different dimensions; The valve body is indicated at in and is seen:

Figurefitisa side elevation jofla pump plunger" I to comprise agenerallytubular metallic 'mem-i 65:?

her having an'axial aperture 1 1;fo r' thepassag'e of oil." the :direction. of the 1 arrow A shown in Figure 2. Around the. exterior sof this-valve body is positionedflany suitable 'pa'ckihg such' asflindi'r-i o cated generally at P and vwhich'i'sk adapted to e705:-

make a fluiditight" contact with the inner cylin-- dricallwall of the. pump chamber;

1 The reduced upper cylindrical endj'lol oft-the body is- -;exter iorly;:threaded to receive: the interiorlythreaded'lower endof a cage 12.--"Moun t'-J 75p V ed-ruponrthe annular, upper-end surface of,.-por"-"--*' tions-10f. of the :body; is; aa'valve' 'seati-member jila i having a; centrali :aperture 114 aligned with the" bore;11-"ofthewbody'jandithroughvwhichiall:of

the oil Qor other fluid being pumped must pass 89- in the operation of the plunger. 1 Thejlower end of aperture 14 is preferably conical as shown, the I conical section} leading into a cylindrical sec-,- tion which terminates at its upper [end 1 an;

annular seating surface v13' formed to receive 8 53 M with a .fluid tight fit the hardened spherical valve 15. A coiled spring is indicated at 16, the

upper end "-of this spring bearing against the o cage .;12 .and. thelower end bearing against the upper-[surface ofv valve seat 13; The spring func- 0;

tions to-maintainthe Valve seat in position and U also;to guide the ball'valve'l5 iin its'rising and I falling movements." The spring furthermore functic ms to prevent theentrancethrough aper- V tures'lz' ofsthecage and into the'chamber-in as which the valve 15' is locatedpof 'many large 1 particles of pump packing or other foreign ele-T n' entfiwh ich ,may tend'to settle; through "the I v column of oil to theneighborhood ofthe valve.

g In operation; ofcourse, the plunger is recipro# 10p c'ated vertically by the-pump rodabove the same, .which is not illustrated, on the downward stroke :of. the plunger oil passes through the duct v11"v and thereafter through the-valve port 14 'lift-.

ing valve 15 from theseatand escaping from 19,

thecage 12 and passing into the casing; (not illustrated); above the plunger. On theupward stroke ofthelplunger the valve'l5" seats and the column or oilabove the'plung'er is pipe or valve ,1 v

lifted. Byreason ofr-the fact that theport 14 1 EigureZ wherethe .pumpu is toabe applied to a at maximum velocity.

which extends through the valve seat 13 is relativelyrestricted at its upper end, the stream of oil passing through this port is caused to have a relatively high velocity and, it is found that this high velocity of oil substantially prevents the deposition onthe valve seat of any impurities such as sand or grit which may be contained in the oil. By forming duct 14 in such way that its lower end is conicalgthe'stream of upflowing oil is caused to gradually increase in velocity-as it approaches the more restricted section of duct '14 and when it passes the valve seat ismoving I contemplatethe use, in wells ofidiffere capacities of valve seats having effective oil pas sage ports of different dimensions,;; Thus Figure 4 is illustrated a valve seat 20, the port '21 of which is of smalleridia-meterthan'that shown in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawing; The},

valve seat 20 is substituted for-that shown in well of less capacity. similarlyvalve seats hav ing ports of larger or smaller diameter may be employed, depending ,upon' the capacity .of; the

well in which'the pump is used but in :allIc'ases the effective diameterxofithe port passing through the. valve seat is relatively restricted as compared with the, portsv through valve seats ofthe types which'have been heretofore used or are now on the "market,v thus ensuring maximum velocity of oil flow past the valveand valve seat.; I V 1 Thevalve seat may beeasily removed'byunscrewing the;.cage 'IZffIOIIL the body 10; "The spring 16*isusedat all times, regardless-v of the si'zeIof the valve'seat port. ,7 r i .Having thus'described the-invention; whatis claimed as newand fdesiredto be .secured by Letters Patent is: V 1: a -.1. Inan oil wellpump plunger;in=-combination, a body portion having anaxialdutzttherethrough, a cage attached thereto, a, valve seat supported by the body and having :a 'port concentrio with the 'duct, -the diameterof the port in the valveseatbeinglless thanthe diameter of 1 said duct, a valve movablyretained. in said cage and adapted to'seat on said valve seat, and a coil spring surrounding'said valve and serving as a guide for the latter, said spring engaging said seat to retain the same in operative position.

2. In an oil well pump plunger, the combina-' tion with a' body having an axial duct therethrough; of 'a cage carriedbysaidbody, arr emovable. valve seat supported by. the bodyzand having a port therein communicating with said duct, avalve movably retained in said-cage and adapt- 1;;ed,.,jto,seat on said valve seat to closethe port therein, a co il spring surrounding and guiding said valve, said spring acting between said cage and said; seat to retain the latter in position 3. In an oil well'pump plunger, in combination, a body--portion' 'having an axial duct therethro ugh a cage attached thereto, a series of interchangeable valve seats, each having a port therein, the ports gbeing ofwvarying' diameters-less than the diameter of theduct, means comprising; a spring acting between" saidg-cagerandseatfor; removably .retaininga selectedseatin position on the body withthe' port :therein concentric Wil31l'm0 I said duct, and a lvalve movably retained; in said cage, guided Icy-said spring, and adapted to seat on-said valveseatnflw 3 ,7 4..In an oil wellspump plunger, ingcpmbinaez tion, a body portion having anaxialduct, there-z through, a-cage attached'thereto, a series ofini t terehangeable valve I seats, each having a :portj therein, =-the ports; being of varying diameters less, than the diameter ,of;- the ductgmeans for removably, retaining a selectedseatiin1positi0n- 110 on thejrbodyl with: the ,port -=therein concentric with said duct',uand a; valve-.movabl-yrretainediin said cage and adapted to seat on said valvetseat;

said seat retaining, means comprising .a coil-spring exerting thrustbetween said cage andisaidiseat. 113

and surrounding said valve'nto guideithev latter into positionpn-saidseat; 

